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Why do we feel so threatened by innovation?

There is a European oil producer, the nationality of whom I choose to conceal, who has a name for bottling and selling excellent extra virgin olive oil. Recently this person tweeted a message that gives us pause for thought.

I quote the tweet as it was posted, without revealing the name of the producer. I have chosen to do so because I don’t think he makes a very good impression. I want to shield him from criticism or mockery, but in all honesty, I can only feel sorry for someone who expresses such ultraconservative views.

"The idea of using robots to tend olive groves is becoming more and more real... and the prospect doesn’t fill me with joy.”

I’ll be honest. Only a few days have passed since the dawn of the new year, and I find myself wondering how a relatively young person can be so ferociously opposed to innovation.

I bless the day when robotics, already a concrete reality in so many sectors, will bring its benefits to agriculture. We should never be afraid of innovation, but instead, look forward to it with great trepidation.

In Italy in particular, many are the problems plaguing agriculture, the most serious of which are the high production costs and lack of qualified labour. Technologically advanced solutions might provide the answer to the needs of a sector lacking even the smallest hint of curiosity or inclination to look forwards, and be in step with the times.

I wanted to bid 2016 goodbye by encouraging my acquaintances to look up to the future and play an active role in what is to come. What is the purpose, on the other hand, of looking back and being afraid of the future?

The case I highlighted at the beginning of this article is not the only one, but what is really surprising is that the author of this tweet is a cultured person, not some farmer of the old guard.

Would it make any sense, nowadays, to use a scythe to harvest wheat, like in bygone days? Today, we accept combine harvesters in our life, because they are the means to lighten the heavy work burden of farmers. So why is it so difficult to accept the idea of progress in our future?

TASTE

A Tuscan PGIoil made by Terre dell’Etruria, a farming cooperative society that has invested all it has on its members, expertly helping and guiding them towards quality and success. The most impressive features of this extra virgin oil, flavour apart, are its remarkable quality/price ratio and extraordinary yield > Luigi Caricato

COOKING

Extra Virgin Garda DOP olive oil’s distinctive traits are its naturally delicate flavor and its elegance. At the taste it can be recognized for harmony or its organoleptic notes and for the light and balanced aromas: the scents of fresh grass, aromatic herbs, hay and artichoke, together with the typical almond aftertaste, make it unique. Recipe by chef Carlo Bresciani

WEB

Very few oil producers run blogs. Turri's, with its minimalistic design, is both simple and elegant. It is also available in English: posts are published at regular intervals and dispatched through newsletters > Luigi Caricato

OO VIDEO

The fruit of tradition, care and a passion for quality. Our story starts here, in Puglia. The beating heart of the Mediterranean Sea. This is the birthplace of our oil-making art, an art that has always considered olives as a living body. Video Spot Corporate by Masseria di Sant'Eramo

Data about olive oil & food

Olio Officina Globe is the English version of the Olio Officina Magazine,a periodical listed in the Press Registry of the Court of Milanregistration number 326 dated October 18, 2013 - featuring a selection of articles taken from the above magazine, as well as other contents supplied by the Olio Officina network.